How Britain’s politicians got a clean bill of health after expenses scandal

The Parliamentary expenses scandal saw Britain’s faith in politicians hit a new low – but it also heralded change. Metro looks at the positives that have come out of the story.

Home of British politics: The Houses of Parliament (Picture: AFP)

With stories of duck houses, moat cleaning and sparkly toilet seats charged to the taxpayer, the expenses scandal of 2009 and 2010 cast a long shadow over Parliament. Some MPs were forced to resign, others were imprisoned for fraud and a record number stood down.

The 2010 general election saw Parliament’s biggest turnover of MPs in decades: more than a third of those elected became Parliamentarians for the first time, the largest number since World War II. In its wake, Parliament has been left surer of itself. Total Politics editor Ben Duckworth, a keen Westminster observer, believes the change has strengthened the institution.

‘The arrival of so many new MPs after the 2010 election really livened the House of Commons up,’ he says. ‘They arrived with lots of energy and have thrown themselves into projects. You’ll soon see some of them rising up the ranks of government.’

When the expenses scandal broke, many MPs caught in the headlights claimed they were only doing what their elders and betters – the party whips – had told them to do. That this did not get them off the hook means new MPs are more likely to think independently, according to Duckworth.

‘The fallout from the expenses scandal also means they know they can’t simply follow their parties’ orders,’ he adds. ‘MPs need to make sure their constituents are happy. They are, on the whole, more independently minded MPs who will stick up for local interests. The number of recent rebellions shows that the House of Commons is not full of lobby fodder [MPs willing to vote however their parties tell them to].’

Conservative Charlotte Leslie, who represents Bristol North West, was one of the more than 200 MPs elected for the first time in 2010. She says seeing the expenses scandal ‘eat up’ some of her predecessors means she and other new MPs are more aware and worried about how they are perceived by the outside world.

‘Parliament is now full of people who were candidates when the scandal took place – so they had one foot in and one foot out,’ she says. ‘We all saw what it could do to politicians and we don’t want that to happen to us.

‘It doesn’t mean we won’t make mistakes – of course we will. But we are constantly thinking about what our constituents think of us now, which can only be a good thing.

‘There is a bigger effort now not to get pulled in and eaten by the Westminster bubble.’

The exposure of certain expenses many MPs thought would remain private – such as the adult films watched by former home secretary Jacqui Smith’s husband – led to a rethink of the system.

Now, all expenses are published online and in the first full year’s receipts since the scandal, claims are down by 24 per cent from £98million to £75million – that’s a saving of £23million for the taxpayer.

TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign manager Robert Oxley says: ‘The expenses crisis rocked the public’s faith in politicians but it has also rightly led to much greater transparency over what MPs are claiming for.

‘With greater scrutiny over how the Westminster elite spends taxpayers’ money, it shouldn’t be surprising that they are now more careful with our cash and are spending less of it.’